Seeker's Curse
by FoxBane1191
Summary: What's TC to do when he's captured by the Autobots? Especially when he's stuck in a tiny brig with no way out. Sunstreaker witnesses the 'Con's meltdown, leaving him no choice but to comfort him. Can comfort turn into something else?
1. Ambushed and Propositioned

_**Summary**_: Sunstreaker/Thundercracker, yes I know, a very odd pairing. :D

_**Rating**_: It will end up being M rated. Definitely some sticky mech on mech smex going on. Port and Valve stuff. :)

_**Summary**_: Whats TC to do when he's captured by the autobots? His trine won't help him and he doubts Megatron will trade slag for him, so what now? Especially when he's stuck in a tiny brig with no way out. Sunstreaker witnesses the Decepticon's meltdown and has his arrogant eyes opened, he has no choice but to comfort the Seeker before TC off lines himself. What are the Autobots to do with a jet and a possessive twin?

_**A/N:**_ Now, I've never written a Transformers story before, I've read a lot of them but never written one so bear with me through out the story. This should be a fairly short story, only 3 or 4 chapters long. Hopefully I got the characters fairly correct. Their may be a little OOCness but I'll try to keep that to a minimum. I've never seen anything but the latest movies so I've never seen how Sunstreaker or Thundercracker in anything but I have read up on both characters. So I hope I did okay. Hopefully you guys agree.

Chapter One: Ambushed and Propositioned

Sunstreaker sat perched within the trees, hidden very carefully as his bright blue optics scanned the sky. He'd stayed away from any leaves and branches, cautious of his gold paint job, instead tucking himself into the shadows cast by the scrubby bunch of trees. He knew no one would be able to see him unless he gave himself away. Which he wouldn't. He was to good at what he did for that. Sideswipe was positioned not that far away, on the other side of the canyon, hidden among the rocks and boulders. Hopefully the impulsive red mech wouldn't give himself away either, not until the right moment anyway.

They were waiting for a little birdy that had been rumored to have been spotted flying through this canyon every few days. A farmer that lived at the end of the canyon had called the police a week ago, saying that a jet kept passing over his farm and disturbing his animals. The Autobots had snagged the call right away, knowing that it had to be one of the Decepticon Seekers. There were no authorized flying in this zone, especially considering all the twisting canyons in the area. It was an unexpected development and one they would take advantage up.

The farmer had said the plane was always on it's own, always at different times of the day. And it was always the same plane. The old man couldn't tell them what color the plane was, it was always too high for the man to really tell but he was adamant that it was the same plane. Said that it always did the same odd little half barrel roll before it slowed down to enter the canyon. After seeing how absolutely positive the old man had been the Autobots hadn't argued. So it was always the same plane and without fail the Seeker always came every few days. It was beyond suspicious but the Autobots hadn't found anything in the canyons, never mind that the canyons were full of impossible twists and turns that one could easily get lost in.

So he and Sideswipe had been positioned for an ambush. They weren't sure which Seeker was coming here but everyone thought it was more than likely Starscream, bent on some plot to over throw Megatron again. The multicolored Seeker was beyond devious and there was no way that the Autobots wanted him to succeed in any plans he had going. Starscream was a sadistic slagger and any plan he had was bound to be pit spawned. A plan they wanted no part in whatsoever.

Sunstreaker scanned the end of the canyon again, blue optics watching intently. Checking his chronometer Sunstreaker felt like cursing. It was almost time for their shift to end. If the Seeker didn't come sometime in the next Earth hour than the twins would be switched out with Prowl and Jazz for a shift. The soft dermal plating around his lips pulled up as he sneered a little in irritation. He wanted to take the slagger down, Starscream had been a pain in the aft for his entire life cycle and Sunstreaker wanted to crush him. The aggression was familiar, welling up in his spark and surging through his energon lines. He ignored it even as he gritted his teeth, the metal grinding together.

He could feel Sideswipe's boredom through their spark link. The red twin was incredibly bored, never able to stay in one place for more than a few kliks. Sunstreaker was actually a little surprised Sides hadn't jumped from cover already. He supposed it was the reward Bluestreak had coyly promised the red twin that kept the mech hidden despite his boredom. A flash of jealousy made him clench his metal teeth tighter but he tried to push the feeling away. When he felt Sides sudden attentiveness he knew he hadn't succeeded. He ignored his twin, keeping his eyes fixed on the canyon end.

Of course Sides knew he was jealous, he always knew everything Sunstreaker felt, always had just like Sunstreaker knew everything Sides felt. So there was no hiding the jealousy from his twin. Of course he was jealous. Sides had always been there for Sunstreaker, never letting another mech get between them. Even Sunstreaker admitted that with his savage impulsiveness he needed Sides to calm him down. He always had, ever since the incident, and there was really no way around that. So the two of them had always shared everything, even when it came to interfacing partners. Sides had always had to get them ready for Sunstreaker's more violent touches. More often then not Sunstreaker scared his interfacing partners to death and he needed Sides' more easy going presence to soothe them. Sunstreaker hadn't even attempted to have an interfacing partner on his own for vorns, not since they'd been on Cybertron.

But it was different with Bluestreak, Sunstreaker knew that no matter how often or how much Sides tried to assure him. Bluestreak was different than any other partner the twins had ever had, or more appropriately Sides had ever had. Sunstreaker knew that just like Sides knew he was jealous and a little hurt. Sides had feelings for Bluestreak, feelings he'd never had for any other mech and Sunstreaker wasn't going to tread on that ground no matter what Sides tried to tell him. Sides had tried to get him to join them on several occasions, with Bluestreak's encouragement but Sunstreaker, even as unstable as he was, knew that even as twins they had to have things that were solely theirs. Bluestreak belonged to Sides, there was no way around that fact just like there was no way around the fact that Sides was very much Bluestreak's. He was no longer solely Sunstreaker's twin. And it killed a part of Sunstreaker's spark but he knew there was no changing that fact. His brother would give up Bluestreak if Sunstreaker asked him to but Sunstreaker had decided he'd been selfish enough in his life cycle. It was time to give Sides something in return.

So he'd slowly started to distance himself from his twin, even going so far as to request his own room. The request had shocked Prowl, the police car had stared at him more than a little when he'd demanded his own room, but he'd insisted. Sides had protested, quite loudly, but for once Sunstreaker hadn't caved. Then he'd slowly begun to draw away from their spark link. Not enough to be completely cut off but enough that they couldn't hear one another thinking. It was a relief not to hear Sides constantly thinking about Bluestreak but it still made Sunstreaker ache more than he would ever admit. They'd always been in each others processor, had always had the other rambling in the back of their thoughts. It felt horribly empty to Sunstreaker and Sides had protested that as well but Sunstreaker's mind was made up.

He'd begun the process nearly a stellar cycle ago and it seemed almost normal now. Not that that made it hurt any less. He knew Sides had spark bonded with Bluestreak, had felt it happen only a few Earth months ago, so he knew Sides at least was okay. Bluestreak had filled the void Sunstreaker had left, just like the gold twin had wanted him too. So he knew Sides was happy, could feel it most of the time through the still working but diminished bond. So he'd made the right decision no matter how much it left him hurting.

He knew more than one mech was worried about him but honestly he didn't give a slag. He knew he'd been more volatile and impulsive since he'd diminished the bond. Some might even say he'd become almost savage in his aggression. Sides had always been the calming force behind the two of them, always lightening Sunstreaker's anger with his laid back laughter. Now that wasn't there anymore to support the gold Lamborghini. Now Sunstreaker had to deal with the rage on his own. And as much as that thought hurt and stung he supposed it was about time. He couldn't always depend on Sides for everything, that had been proved more than once in the past.

Cycling a gust of air through his intakes Sunstreaker shifted his footing, careful not to disturb anything around him. He would be shocked if their prey noticed them but it never hurt to be careful. He knew from more than one experience that any of the Decepticon Seekers could be sneaky little fraggers with more than one trick hidden up their thrusters. So it would be prudent to be cautious.

Just as the thought crossed his processor a low steady hum began to fill the air. The sound was soft and continuous, making his audio circuits almost buzz. Taking a peek around his hiding place he searched the bare canyon. For a few nanokliks Sunstreaker wasn't sure what the sound even was and when the realization struck him his optics widened in surprise and he ducked back behind the scrubby trees. He was so used to hearing the Seeker's jet engines in battle that he hadn't even thought about what the jets would sound like when they were relaxed. The sound was surprisingly mellow, much quieter than a normal jet engine with a much deeper intonation.

_:Incoming.:_ Sunstreaker murmured through his link to Sides, pushing the words in with a minute effort. Unlike before he had to consciously think to send the words. He readied the stun gun in his hands, the weapon heavy in his gold hands. The weapon would only stun the Seeker for a few breems, and only basic functions, but it was all they needed. :_You ready to go?:_ He asked needlessly.

_:That's what that sound is?:_ Sideswipe exclaimed, voice excited and his anticipation coloring the link. _:Lets take the fragger down!:_

Sunstreaker grinned ferally, blue optics dark as he waited. His body relaxed completely, tension uncoiling from his lines as he readied himself. He was always the most relaxed right before a battle and he hoped to to pit the piece of scrap Seeker gave him a nice fight.

-0_0-O_O

Thundercracker fought the urge to cower, keeping his back strut straight as he stood before Megatron, optics lowered and his faceplate blank. He knew the more fear he showed the more likely he was to be completely scrapped. He knew without a doubt he was going to get hurt already but there was no use increasing the damage. Not for the first time he cursed Starscream and Skywarp, it was their fault and _he_ was going to be the one to take the punishment like always.

"Now, for the last time, where are your trinemates?" Megatron asked, voice almost silky smooth and his fire red optics locked onto the Seekers bent helm.

Thundercracker winced, recognizing the tone as being extremely dangerous to his health. Every 'con on base would recognize that tone. But loyalty made him risk it. "I don't know, Lord Megatron." Of course he knew where they were, but he wasn't going to give them up that easily. He knew Megatron would frag them both up if he knew what they were doing.

"You don't know, Thundercracker?" Megatron said leaning back in his massive throne as his optic ridges raised in question. "Or you simply won't tell me?"

The blue Seeker tried not to flinch, knowing the reaction would give him away. Even though he knew neither of his trinemates would protect him it was against his processor codes to just give them up. "I honestly have no idea where they are, my Lord. They left sometime this solar cycle and I haven't seen them since." Which wasn't a lie, he hadn't _seen_ them since this morning. What he'd felt through the trine bond wasn't exactly seeing them after all.

"Very well then." A sadistic smile was now curving the gray mech's mouth plate, the smile making Thundercracker nearly break his resolve and cower. That smile was never a good thing. "If you will not willingly tell me then I will just have to have the information pried from you."

Thundercracker felt dread almost freeze his fuel pump as Soundwave stepped from his position just behind Megatron's throne, the communications officer's optics shining at him from behind his visor. He'd felt Soundwave's psychic attacks before and he knew without a doubt that the stoic mech could pull whatever information he wanted from Thundercracker without even trying. The mech terrified Thundercracker, had since the Seeker had first joined the Decepticons.

"My Lord?" He managed before his processor fluxed wide open, tearing agony ripping through his entire core as his data files were torn open. Immediately his hands came up to clutch his head, claws curling around his helmet as he staggered to his knees. He was barely aware of the sharp cry that stung his vocalizer, bright red warnings flashing in front of his optics as his systems tried to fight of the intruder. The whole process was extremely painful, his every energon line and sensor array tight with tension. Just as quickly as it had come the presence was gone, leaving Thundercracker with heaving vents and cooling fans humming frantically.

"Soundwave: Successful, found whereabouts of Command Trine." Soundwave intoned, voice almost completely monotone as he turned to Megatron.

Thundercracker made his peds and knees lock as he pulled himself up, only barely preventing himself from swaying. Shows of weakness weren't tolerated, it was bad enough that he'd fallen. Glancing up he froze when he met his leaders red optics, which were still focused on him intently, this time with a speculative gleam that Thundercracker did _not_ like. Taking a step back before he could stop himself Thundercracker had to force himself not to panic.

"Ah, so you _were_ lieing to me, I thought so." Megaton said quite calmly, tapping a sharp servo along the arm of his throne, the noise almost echoing in the large throne room. The sound made the blue Seeker flinch.

"Answer: Negative. Thundercracker: Telling the truth as he knows it." This made both Megatron and Thundercracker turn to look at the stoic mech, Thundercracker in surprise and Megatron in speculation. "Lazerbeak: Confirmed Seekers location. Seekers: Currently several joors Northeast, interfacing."

Thundercracker dared not say a word, even though he knew Soundwave was lieing. The blue Seeker knew for a fact that Lazerbeak was in Soundwave's quarters, he'd seen the mech vulture just this solar cycle. Even as he watched fury begin to twist Megatron's expression relief eased his processor. If Megatron had found out that not only was Starscream, _his_ little Seeker slut, interfacing behind his back but that Thundercracker was covering for him the blue Seeker would have been slagged. Now he only had to deal with Megatron's fury aimed at Starscream not at himself. He wasn't sure why Soundwave would lie, he would no doubt find out what the mech wanted later, but he was grateful in that moment.

"What?" Megatron snarled as he shot to his feet, servos clenched and his cooling fans kicking in as fury heated his frame. It wasn't as angry as Thundercracker had ever seen him but it was pretty fragging close. He pointed a clawed servo at the blue Seeker. "How long have you known?"

As Thundercracker hesitated Soundwave answered for him, absolutely no fear in the telepath's voice. "Thundercracker: No previous knowledge of trinemates betrayal."

That didn't however stop the large gray mech from grabbing ahold of the blue Seeker's wings and _throwing_ him across the room, the jet not quite fast enough to get away. With a shout of pain Thundercracker hit the far wall, arching sharply as his sensitive wings made contact, his arrays flaring as agony surged through the appendages. Staggering Thundercracker on lined his optics again just as a massive fist smashed into his side, only barely missing his glass cockpit and sending his crashing to the floor. He could feel the light flight metal bend under the blow, pressing painfully into the sensors surrounding his cock pit. Terror coursed through him, heated his energon and sending his fuel pump surging. With a groan of pain he tried to scramble up, getting a harsh kick across the hip that almost displaced a gear and another to the shoulder that dented in his entire shoulder plate. Warnings flickered across his HUD as an energon line ruptured somewhere in his arm. His optics flared in panic as large hands gripped his right wing and hauled him up, agony ripping through him as the thin flight metal bent like aluminum under Megatron's crushing servos.

The enormous gray mech pinned him to the walls by his wings, servos gripping the top of each slender appendage tightly. Megatron leaned close, heat almost bleeding from his frame, red optics glaring down into Thundercracker's. "You will go and find your traitorous Air Commander and you will bring him to me. If you fail to bring him back to base then I will _tear_ these wings from your body." He pulled sharply on the wings in question, earning a sharp cry from the Seeker. "Do you understand me?" His deep voice was seething with rage and Thundercracker could see that he meant every single word he said.

Thundercracker nodded quickly, his entire frame shaking with terror as he agreed. "Y-yes, my Lord." His vocalizer almost went static and his processor shot out frightened codes as he met his leaders optics.

"Good." Megatron rumbled, that speculating gleam coming to his optics again before he dropped the Seeker carelessly. Thundercracker stifled a whimper as his wings ached terribly, only just managing to remain on his peds. "I want them back by the next solar cycle." He said before he turned and stalked nonchalantly from the control room, leaving the Seeker shaking in his wake.

Thundercracker cycled air heavily, letting himself slide down the wall as the tension suddenly left his frame. Optics off lining he tried to calm him processor. His Seeker programming was telling him quite adamantly to repair his wings. He pressed a hand to his shoulder, trying to dig his fingers into the plating so he could maybe tie off the ruptured energon line before any more bled out. All in all it had been a relatively mild beating considering the circumstances. Of course he was so much smaller than Megatron that even a mild beating still affected him greatly. Pain was still surging through his wrung out system, his energon level too low to really help his self repair system. There would be aches and pains until he had at least a half a tank of fresh energon. Which meant he would be in pain for quite some time. Energon was extremely low on the Nemesis, they would have to go on a raid any solar cycle now.

Just as he was thinking on _how_ he was going to get his trine back to the Nemesis a noise startled him, bringing his helm up and his optics flaring back to life. His fingers stilled in his shoulder as his optics focused on Soundwave, crouching not even a few feets away, easily within arms distance. Looking up into the mech's visored face Thundercracker felt unease shoot down his back strut. He'd never been this close to the telepath before and it made him distinctly uncomfortable. Especially since the mech never gave away his game plan until the very last second. Soundwave had lied to _Megatron_ for him, and now there was no doubt in Thundercracker's processor that Soundwave wanted something in return.

"Thundercracker: Critical?" Soundwave asked expressionlessly, his right servo only inches from Thundercracker's left thruster. His orange visor hid his optics, making the jet even more uneasy.

Thundercracker hesitated before he answered, red optics dimming as he tried to think of Soundwave's motives. "No, I'll be fine after my self repair gets enough fuel to work through the damage." He answered honestly since he didn't see any reason not to be honest. He stifled a groan when he tried to shift his wings, only just stopping the noise.

The blue and white mech seemed to consider something for a moment before pulling a brimming cube of energon from his subspace. Thundercracker gaped in shock when Soundwave held it out to him. "Soundwave: In no need of energon, found better use." He left no doubt that he thought Thundercracker was the better use.

"What do you want?" The F-15 asked suspiciously, optics flicking between the cube and Soundwave. The mech had to want something and the more Soundwave offered the Seeker the more uneasy he became. No matter how desperately Thundercracker needed the energon he wasn't going to take it until he knew what he had to give for it.

Soundwave tilted his head to the side, looked almost like an Earth bird as he studied the downed Seeker. "Thundercracker: Not as previously estimated, untouched." He tapped a servo to chest plate over his spark for emphasis. "Soundwave: Desires Seeker as an interfacing partner. Will trade services in return." He held out the energon cube again.

Thundercracker stared for several kliks in almost horror, optics wide with surprise. Out of all the things he'd thought Soundwave wanted he _never_ would have guessed this. Soundwave was about as emotional as a screwdriver and he'd never shown interest in anyone before. Before now Thundercracker would have doubted that the fragger even _had_ interfacing equipment. Apparently he did, and he wanted to use them with Thundercracker. His vocalizer almost spit out a hysterical laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation.

"I-" He hesitated, a grimace twisting his mouth. "Yeah, I need the energon but there are other places to go for it." He began to dig again under his shoulder plating, searching for the elusive energon line. "And I'm sure you can find a more...suitable partner. Seekers aren't supposed to interface with groundies." His optics carefully watched Soundwave for a reaction. The one he got was unexpected.

The big mech simply set the energon beside Thundercracker's leg and shuffled closer. The jet froze, form tensing, but all Soundwave did was brush his hand aside and begin to inspect the shoulder injury himself. Intakes hitching, Thundercracker remained tensed as Soundwave began to gingerly dig into the wound, touching sensitive wires along the way. It sent pleasant little pain-pleasure signals through his sensors and the jet was fairly sure the mech knew that. No one had ever really touched Thundercracker before though, not without pain, and he decided not to protest. The light touch felt nice, even over a wound like it was.

"Soundwave: Can offer more." The blue and white mech said when he'd finally found the cut line. There was a twinge of pain as Soundwave began to tie the line off. Thundercracker watched with curious optics despite himself. "Position as interfacing partner will protect Thundercracker from Megatron. Soundwave: Will keep quite about Thundercracker's lie. Will provide better grade energon. Will provide pleasure and not pain."

Thundercracker listened, feeling his tanks roll and his fuel pump stutter. What Soundwave wanted sounded more like a spark mate, not an interfacing partner. And as nice as his offer sounded Thundercracker was still very much suspicious. "Why the pit would you want me for an interfacing partner?" He asked bluntly, his nature making him speak plainly. "What are you getting out of this whole deal?" And nearly jumped out of his frame when Soundwave ran a large hand gently down the side of one wing, bringing every sensor node in the appendage to aching life.

Leaning down closer Soundwave hovered over him, his frame almost boxing Thundercracker in and his hand remaining planted on the blue wing. As a flier he was much smaller than Soundwave, a fact he'd never felt so strongly as the mech came even closer. "Soundwave: Never interfaced with a Seeker before. Have heard...rumors of Seekers passionate nature." This was emphasized with a stroke to Thundercracker's wing. "Problem: Seekers are promiscuous, require full loyalty."

Thundercracker shuddered, trying to keep his processor straight as pleasure rippled through every sensor net on his extremely sensitive wing. Of course he'd had Starscream and Skywarp touch his wings before, Seekers spoke through their wings after all, but they'd _never_ touched his wings quite like this before. The trine had always unconsciously avoided the major sensor nodes in each others wings, it was almost taboo unless it was asked for. So he was completely unprepared for the sensations coursing through his wings at Soundwave's light little touches.

Reaching up to grip Soundwave's hand, stilling the touching servos he tried to wrap his processor around the mech's words. "You want my complete loyalty in exchange for all of that?" He was almost ashamed by the gasp at the end, sensations still echoing through his system.

"Affirmative." Soundwave flexed his servos in Thundercracker's hand, pulling it back once the blue jet let go.

Optics looking up at the other mech Thundercracker went through his options. The deal seemed a little to good to be completely true. He'd originally joined Starscream and Skywarp as a trine because they'd promised him the same things. Protection, energon, companionship, support, loyalty. All of those things had been promised to him yet it seemed like in all the vorns they'd been together it had only been Thundercracker that upheld that promise. Whenever Starscream skipped out on Megatron it was always Thundercracker that took the beating, never Skywarp. Whenever they were low on energon it was always Thundercracker that hit critical level first, having shared his own rations with them. Thundercracker was always alone, sure Skywarp liked to hang around him but only so that Thundercracker could take the blame for whatever the purple jet had gotten up to. It was an unequal trine bond, Thundercracker had always known that yet he'd stuck by his promises. Perhaps it was time he started to look after himself more.

Soundwave really wasn't a bad looking mech, the jet decided at he scanned the communications officer. Not bad at all, in fact he was fairly handsome. Thundercracker had never really looked at the mech that way, probably because he was a ground pounder but now he found the mech at least worth some attention. What would it matter if he interfaced with Soundwave on a regular basis? Sure, he'd never done it before, he still had all his seals completely in tact, but what did that matter? It wasn't that no one had ever asked, in fact his trine always tried to get him to join them, it was just that he'd never been interested enough to accept any of the offers. He wasn't really interested in Soundwave either, the mech was a little boring for his tastes but he was sure by the stimulating touching to his wings that that wouldn't be a problem. Every line of his Decepticon codes urged him to take the deal.

Still, he needed to make sure he knew _exactly_ what Soundwave would expect. He couldn't risk having the mech surprise him like his trine had. "Tell me exactly what this whole thing would entail. Every detail." He said as he shuttered his ruby optics up at the big mech.

Soundwave nodded in what seemed like approval, shifting his weight to the back of his peds. "Sounwave: Requires Thundercracker's full loyalty, must not interface with any others." He cocked his head to the side. "Rule: Includes trinemates. Second requirment: Must have mind open to Soundwave whenever in personal quarters. Will only be painful if Thundercracker resists." Thundercracker frowned but didn't protest, not liking that part at all. "In return: Soundwave will provide much needed energon, protect Thundercracker's physical well being, keep Thundercracker's secret, and Soundwave will refrain from providing Megatron with the knowledge of Thundercracker's doubts on the Decepticon cause."

The F-15 only had to think for a moment, Soundwave was practically blackmailing him, even if it would work out in his favor it was still blackmail and he really had no other choice but to accept the offer. So he nodded his head slowly, feeling almost helpless. It wouldn't be the first time he'd felt helpless after he'd accepted Starscream as trine. "Yeah, I guess I can do that." He muttered, throat tubes feeling ridiculously tight around his vocalizer.

"Decision: Positive." Soundwave murmured, voice quite. Thundercracker didn't expect him to suddenly lean down and kiss him, warm glossa flicking once over Thundercracker's soft white lip plating before he pulled back, battle mask clicking back into place. "Order: Go to Soundwave's quarters and repair. Soundwave: Will retrieve Command Trine and return." He told Thundercracker, before he rose slowly to his feet.

The blue jet stared up at the blue and white mech for a long moment before Soundwave turned his back and left the room silently. Thundercracker nearly gaped after him, wondering what the hell he'd gotten himself into. This wasn't at all how he'd thought his day was going to go. It was unexpected and completely bewildering.

Processor more than a little lost Thundercracker absently picked up the energon cube. When he took a large sip a gust of relieved air burst from his intakes. The energon was the good stuff, it actually tasted aged. It was sweet and metallic on his glossa and his warning lights immediately left his vision as he took another large sip. Starscream and Skywarp would never have given him something like this, they would have kept it for themselves, most Decepticons would, yet Soundwave had given it to him easily.

Perhaps this whole thing wasn't such a bad idea, perhaps he'd made the right decision. The whole thing made him intensely uncomfortable, even a little nervous, but there really wasn't any other way around the situation. Soundwave had him right where he wanted him to be.

Absently subspacing the empty energon cube Thundercracker pulled himself to his feet, ignoring the twinges of pain as his self repair started to kick in. Despite what Soundwave said Thundercracker had a few joors to go flying before he had to get to the officer's room. It would take at least ten joors for Soundwave to get Starscream and Skywarp back to the ship. His self repairs would repair him just as well flying as they would if he were pacing Soundwave's room. He needed to ease his processor anyway, get rid of some of his doubts and nerves. Already he could feel a processor ache coming on.

Ignoring the soreness coating his frame Thundercracker headed for the tower, sudden claustrophobia making him even more nervous. It had taken him almost a stellar cycle to get used to the being in the Nemesis and the underwater ship still made him nervous sometimes. He knew it would calm his nerves something fierce if he took a little flight before he went to Soundwave's quarters.

It was only breems later when he leapt from the platform, transforming gracefully into his jet form as he rocketed into the air. As he did he smiled a little sadistically, releasing a sonic boom as he cleared the platform. The noise reverberated after him, vibrating the very air surrounding him and more than likely deafening Thrust in the tower room. The slagging flyer deserved it, trying to touch him like that. Thrust should have known better but then again no one ever said the cone head was smart. Thundercracker had rejected him at _least_ a dozen times already, one would believe he would have gotten the picture by now.

Rocketing through the air he absently changed course, towards land. The Seekers weren't supposed to fly over land unless they had express permission, just in case any Autobots were wandering around but he'd always figured what Megatron didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Although now Soundwave would know exactly where he went all the time. Hopefully the mech wouldn't forbid him from coming, at this point Thundercracker was deep enough that he really didn't have any choice but to listen. As the humans said 'the situation sucked'.

Clearing his processor Thundercracker focused on the air around him. Although he couldn't 'see' in the tradition sense while he flew his sensors picked up everything for him. At this moment he was completely in autopilot, having taken this path so many times that it was as familiar to him as his servos. The air was whistling around him, pulling and pushing at his wings and cock pit as he sped up. Although he wasn't quite as fast as Starscream, being of a slightly different make, he could still fly faster than any normal human plane. He enjoyed the speed, enjoyed the freedom that the wind gave him. No where else could he feel so at ease as he could in the air. It was a pity his trine didn't fly together as often as they used to, joint flying through the trine bond was the most thrilling experience he'd ever had.

Dipping his wing to the left Thundercracker sharply banked to the side before doing it again with his right wing, flying with an odd zigzagging pattern across the clear sky. The thrill of flying was filling his processor, his fuel pump working overtime as he changed course abruptly over and over again. Although Starscream was fast, Thundercracker had his size and agility on his side. He could out maneuver the more experienced Seeker quite easily, mainly because although fast Starscream was a coward, he wouldn't ever dare some of the stunts Thundercracker pulled. The blue jet's laughter trailed behind him in the wind as he suddenly barrel rolled between two trees, much to close to the ground and his wing tip coming within inches of the trees leaves. Pulling up he zoomed back into the sky, an excited sonic boom following in his wake.

By the time he made it to the canyons he was no longer in a bad mood, his black and blue form spinning gracefully in the air as he entered the last valley before the twisting canyons. Spread below him was a scenic farm but he ignored that as he barrel rolled right into the twisting rock canyons. Only feet after the entrance the rocks curved to the right and he slowed sharply to make the turn. Even as crazy as he was he knew better than to take these canyons going full speed, that would practically be suicide.

Engine humming quietly but deeply Thundercracker traversed the tricky pathway, his knowledge of the area helping him immensely with the sharp turns. To him flying here was just as easy as flying in the open, more than risky but just as spark thrilling. He'd been coming here for almost a stellar cycle, finding the area peaceful and quiet to his processor. It was vorns better than staying at the Nemesis with Megatron around. Even his trine seemed to get on his every nerve lately. This was the only place he could come and just not think.

As he spotted a red blur to his right he thought letting his guard down might not be a good idea. Even as the thought struck him he shifted into his root form, hovering in the canyon some fifty feet from the ground as he surveyed the area. He could have sworn he'd seen something red, something that had never been there before. His processor shifted, almost ready to slide right into Battle Mode. Normally he might not have been as cautious, might have kept going but after this morning his nerves were still strung tight. Red optics sharp he tried to spot the disturbance.

This time the disturbance came to him, a bright red Frontliner stepping from behind the rocks, form large and built for battle. The red mech was grinning up at Thundercracker, positioned several feet above him on a ledge. "How ya doing there? Thunder something, right?" He asked nonchalantly.

Thundercracker shuttered his optics at the red mech, Sideswipe if his memory files served, and backed away from the large mech. He'd had more than one encounter with the nuisance, more on a peripheral level than anything. He'd never been targeted by the mech but he'd repaired enough damage on 'Warp and Starscream to know that the mech was dangerous. He also knew that this particular mech had a twin, Sunstreaker, that helped him with him destruction. Looking around cautiously Thundercracker vented air heavily, having the distinct thought that he was slagged. This was obviously staged and Thundercracker stood little to no chance against two mechs of this size

"Tch, don't try to distract me, Judo twin." Thundercracker said calmly, keeping his doubt from his face plate. He'd shown more than enough weakness for a solar cycle and he certainly wasn't going to show how nervous he suddenly was. "I know you never hunt on your own."

Sideswipe only grinned wider, crouching down on the edge of the ledge. "Then I guess the surprise is kinda over then, ain't it?"

Before the red mech had even finished talking Thundercracker was hit in the back with what he immediately recognized as a stun gun. Normally this wouldn't have been a problem, Seekers were generally immune to such things, but in this case the shot was incredibly damaging. With his self repairs focused on his wings and his Battle Program not quite active the blue jet was completely vulnerable. Especially after Soundwave had completely ripped down his every mental defense. The blue jet was like a proverbial sitting duck. Processor freezing, Thundercracker only vaguely felt his intake sputter and his cooling fans hitch and die. Urgently trying to reboot his processor, sending code after code, Thundercracker barely felt it when he hit the ground. Panic and fear only sent his energon faster, making his lines burn and his body twitch against the stun surge. After a few kliks his entire frame seized, codes running rampant as his optics flickered and he was forced into recharge.

Sunstreaker watched the Seeker fall, almost wincing when the slender metal frame collapsed the almost fifty feet to the ground. It wasn't the Seeker they'd been expecting, in fact it was the last one they'd been expecting. Thundercracker was the calmest of the six Decepticon fliers, always in the back ground of every battle. He was never really engaged and he never really became aggressive. If anything the blue jet only shot if someone else shot first. He'd also shown a very pronounced reluctance to kill anything living here on Earth. Besides his very loud and often stunning sonic booms he wasn't ever very noticeable.

He could feel his twins giddy delight across the bond but Sunstreaker was feeling distinctly displeased as he made his way down the side of the canyon. He'd wanted a fight, he'd wanted to beat Starscream's slagging face plate in. Not stun a mech that hadn't even really done anything but be a Decepticon. Normally that really wouldn't matter but Sunstreaker was feeling...almost merciful. He'd always liked to watch the fliers before the war and he'd always noticed that Thundercracker tended to be too busy doing acrobatics to ever fight in any of their battles. The Seeker seemed to be aggressive with his sonic booms and heavy rocket launchers but Sunstreaker had always liked to watch the Seeker and knew the blue jet never _really_ hurt anyone. In fact he almost reminded Sunstreaker of before the war. Cycling air in frustration, Sunstreaker pushed those thoughts from his processor, no matter what this slagger was a Decepticon and that's what counted.

Sunstreaker reached the downed Seeker first, looking down at the flashing optics and twitching frame. The stun had hit the Decepticon far harder than they'd been told it would. In fact the 'con should still be conscious but it seemed like the Seeker had been forced into recharge. Crouching beside the prone frame he studied the jet with cold blue optics. The Seeker was smaller than he'd thought, at least a foot smaller than the other two Seekers, and much more delicate looking up close than he was in the air. His paint job was mostly blue with black high lights, his face painted a cream white shade. Royal blue, pitch black and cream. Sunstreaker's artists mind supplied the names absently as he looked the Seeker over. It was a nice paint job for the mech despite all the scratches and dents littering the jets frame.

Sideswipe whistled playfully as he came to the Seekers other side, a cheerful smile lighting his face. "Would you look at that, the slagger is actually pretty attractive, ain't he Sunny?"

Sunstreaker looked the Seeker over again and decided that he agreed. The Seeker was actually _very_ attractive. He had that delicately slender flier's frame with subtle curves and long limbs. Smaller than most fliers he was quite a bit smaller than either twin. His wings were spread under his back, several dents and servo prints marring the thin surface. Someone had obviously roughed him up a bit. In contrast to his darkly painted body his cream colored face drew attention to his slender nasal ridge and his full lips. His shoulders were surprisingly broad for his frame, the launchers on either shoulder broadening his frame. It seemed odd that his creators, after making sure his frame was small and sleek, would put such bulky mods on his frame.

"He's okay I suppose." Sunstreaker said evenly, which was as close as he got to calling anyone attractive. That said he glared up at his brother. "Don't call me that!"

Just as Sideswipe began to respond the Seeker between them began to seize, red optics off lining completely and a thin stream of energon leaking down from his mouth plate. Shudders shook the Seekers entire frame, making his wings rattle and scratch along the rocks under him. His intakes began to sputter unevenly, making odd whining noises as pushed the air out. Cooling fans whirred frantically and heat began to bleed heavily from the Seekers frame.

Sunstreaker threw Sideswipe a quick glance and the red twin immediately opened his comm. link as Sunstreaker tried to hold the thrashing Seeker down. "Um, Ratchet?" Sideswipe paused, crouching to try to help his twin. The jet was denting himself all to pit and back with his thrashing. "I think we may have a little problem." His tone was grim as he finally pinned one of the Seekers shoulders down.

"Slag it! What have you done now?" Ratchet snarled over the comm. voice almost echoing in the canyon. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe shared a grim glance as Sideswipe began to explain the situation to the irate medic.

nanoklik ≈ a second  
>klik ≈ a minute<br>breem ≈ 8.3 minutes  
>joor ≈ an hour<br>solar cycle ≈ a day  
>stellar cycle ≈ a year<br>vorn ≈ 83 years


	2. Unarmed and Imprisoned

Chapter Two: Unarmed and Imprisoned

"So how is he?" Optimus asked Ratchet as the Autobot leader stepped up to the medic, who stood peering down at the recharging Seeker spread out on his medical table. The concern in his voice was almost unnoticeable.

Ratchet threw the Prime a shuttered glance, mouth pulled into a frown. "Concern for a Seeker, Optimus?" His tone was sarcastic as he turned back to the Seeker.

"You know just as well as I do that Thundercracker is still very young." Optimus chided gently, bright blue optics focusing on the recharging Seeker. "A sparkling compared to either of us. I would be concerned for any sparkling, Decepticon or Autobot."

The medic blew out a heavy breath, intakes loud as he acknowledged the gentle scolding. "He'll be fine with a little repair work." He conceded, then frowned. "He was in bad shape well before he was stunned."

"What kind of bad shape?" Optimus asked, optics falling back to the prone Seeker. He could see quite a bit of surface damage on his own.

"Well, it's obvious he's been functioning on the bare minimum energon levels for quite some time now. All of his systems are powered down to the lowest settings, even his Battle Programming, which in a Seeker are usually set very high." His voice was grim as he began to plug in several different monitors to the Seeker. "The energon he _has_ been consuming was low grade slag, I can already name multiple systems that are going to have to be replaced, they were so eroded. His fuel pump is barely functioning the way it is right now. He has several sensor nodes damaged in both of his wings, incredibly painful for a Seeker, as well as damage to the sensor netting within each wing. It appears he's also undergone some form of system crash recently, most likely one of Soundwave's telepathic searches. It brought all of his programming down for several joors, which is what made him so vulnerable to the stun gun. He's lucky the stun didn't completely deactivate him in the condition he's in. The only reason it didn't was because his Battle Programing managed a flimsy firewall before he was hit. Honestly that was a miracle in and of itself."

"He is however repairable?" Optimus asked, a grimace twisting his lip plates behind his mask.

"Of course he is." Ratchet gave him a harsh optic glance, as though shocked Optimus would question his skills. "It will take time but I can definitely repair him."

Optimus fell silent then, only staring down at the prone Seeker with thoughtful blue optics. Even as a Decepticon Optimus hated to see Thundercracker in such a state. Optimus was sure he was one of the few Autobots to have met Thundercracker before the war, and it was hard to reconcile the image of that young cheerfully chirping youth with what Thundercracker had become.

Thundercracker's family had only ever been on the edges of nobility, several of his family members more known for their odd and mischievous antics than for their lineage. The blue jet himself had been growing into quite the mischief maker himself. Optimus remembered the first time he'd ever met the young Seeker, a memory file he wasn't sure if Thundercracker himself still had. The young jet had been playing a game of chase with several other sparklings, all of them yet still in their protoforms, they were so young. His processor pulled up the memory file, his optics distant as he watched it replay.

_Optimus walked through the crystal gardens slowly, hands folded behind his back and his blue optics shuttered in thought. He didn't have much time alone he knew, before someone came looking for him. He did not get as much time alone as he liked but there were other things to think on then his lack of privacy. The pressure of his many responsibilities weighed heavily on his processor, his shoulders unconsciously slumped as he drifted silently through the gardens. _

_Just as he decided he should return to the palace before anyone came looking for him, Optimus heard one of his favorite sounds. Turning his blue optics towards the path in front of him he waited for the source of the delightful chirping to show itself. Young sparklings often showed their delight in the simplest form a machine knew, the high sweet chirping chime that Optimus himself could hear coming down the path. Sparklings only made the sound for so long before they grew older and became embarrassed by the childish sound. _

_Just as he suspected a tiny sparkling came scrambling around the paths bend, still young enough to be housed in his small protoform. The youngling was chirping in glee, optics the palest white, almost brilliant with laughter. It was a sight Optimus saw far to little as tension grew as he savored the sight now. _

_Even as he watched the young sparkling caught sight of him, white optics growing wide. Must sparklings were frightened by his larger than most frame, so Optimus almost expected the little one to turn and go back the way he'd come. Instead, to the mech's surprise the youngling chirped again, small lip plates spreading into a smile. The sparkling wasted no time in dashing towards Optimus and for a moment Optimus thought the little blue mech would run right into his legs. But no, the youngling instead, dived behind his legs. As Optimus looked over his shoulder the blue sparkling raised a small servo to his lip plates in a gesture of silence. _

_Just in time it appeared. Three more slightly larger sparklings tumbled around the corner, obviously having been chasing the smaller sparkling. Optimus watched in amusement as they hurriedly looked around and not seeing the little blue mech, dashed right on past Optimus, not even suspecting the blue sparkling was close at hand. _

_Thoroughly amused Optimus looked over his shoulder again just as the little mech began chirping in contagious glee. Optimus laughed right along with the sparkling, unable to help himself. When the laughter finally faded he was surprised to find the young one watching him intently, head cocked to the side and a smile on his lips. _

"_Why you so sad?" The little mech chirped, surprising Optimus again. Usually protoforms were quite a lot bigger before the learned to function their vocalizers so well. Apparently the sparkling was older than his tiny frame gave him credit for. And quite observant for his young age. _

"_Nothing you need worry on, littlest one." Optimus told the little flier, for the small wing nubs made it quite obvious what the little mech would one day be. He was touched by the genuine worry on the mech's faceplate._

_The little mech frowned up at him then smiled again. "Play with me?" He reached up on his ped tips to grip Optimus' servos and gave a playful yank. _

"_Don't you think your friends will miss you?" He replied gently, crouching beside the protoform. _

_The blue mech glanced one way then the other and leaned close as though to tell a secret. Optimus indulgently leaned closer for him. "I like blue better." He said in a hushed tone, touching Optimus' blue thigh plate with a tentative servo. _

_Optimus paused for a perplexed moment then laughed when he realized the three other sparklings had all been black or white. With laughing optics he poked the little mechs blue chest. "Do you know?" He paused and the sparkling leaned closer in anticipation. "I think I like blue too."_

_The little one chirped in delight, nearly jumping up and down. "Everybody like blue." He claimed proudly, puffing out his little chest. _

_Optimus nodded indulgently before speaking again. "Whats your designation, little blue?" He asked._

_The sparkling puffed up again, placing each servo on his hip joints and striking a pose. "I be Thundercracker." He paused and glanced at Optimus to see if he was watching, which he was with an affectionate smile. "I'm gonna be the best bravest Seeker there ever was! Just you see!"_

_Optimus kept his smile in place but inwardly his spark cringed. So the young one was indeed a Seeker. One of the elite war machines. The thought of one such as Thundercracker losing his light spirited spark in war made Optimus' fuel pump tighten. For all Seekers were destined for war, it was expected and demanded of them. As much as Optimus suddenly wanted to change that for Thundercracker he knew he could not. Thundercracker was destined for war whether he wanted it or not. _

Shaking his helm to clear the memory Optimus felt absurdly saddened by the memory file. He'd never thought the sweet little sparkling he'd spent the rest of the day with would turn into what he had. The Thundercracker of old had been sweet and gentle, curious and mischievous, always giving into laughter easily. Since the war had begun Thundercracker could not have changed more. But was it any wonder? Optimus unfortunately knew exactly how Megatron treated his followers.

When he'd first seen Thundercracker with the red optics of a Decepticon he'd been thoroughly surprised. Of course he'd only glimpsed the bot since their day spent in the gardens together but what he had glimpsed had been kind and impish in nature. Certainly not Decepticon material. But then he'd found out exactly who Thundercracker had taken as trine mates and then he'd been surprised not at all. Starscream and Skywarp, much older than Thundercracker himself, had already been known for their aggressive and slightly unethical behavior. And Optimus knew once you were bonded into the trine it was almost impossible to betray the trine. So really, Thundercracker hadn't had much of a choice in the matter. Optimus liked to think that was the reason Thundercracker had joined the Decepticons.

"Well, isn't that strange?" Ratchet's voice brought Optimus' optics back up to the medic, who was hunched over the Seekers shoulder plating, fiddling with something out of sight.

"What is it?" Optimus asked curiously, taking a small step closer. He still couldn't see what had caught the medics attention.

Just as he was going to ask again, Ratchet pulled up and Thundercracker's entire shoulder plating lifted away, rocket launcher coming right with it. Optimus stared in surprise, realizing Thundercracker must have modified his frame, a rare thing in fliers. He'd added thicker, bulkier plates to his shoulders as well as mounted the impressively deadly launcher to the modification. The additions were seamlessly added to his frame, giving not even a hint that they were indeed modifications. Beneath the fake shoulder plating Thundercracker possessed a slender aerodynamically shaped frame that gave him a much more fragile appearance than either mech had suspected. Optimus was certain that the modifications had to slow down not only the mechs transformation time but his flight speed as well.

"Why would he do such a thing?" Optimus murmured, looking up at Ratchet.

Ratchet shrugged as he set the modification aside and set to work on the other shoulder. "There are any number of reasons behind a modification such as this. But seeing as Thundercracker is a Decepticon I suspect I can name _his _reasons." He paused as one of the seven almost invisible latches on the modification refused to budge. "Without these mods Thundercracker is actually a fairly small mech, certainly not as big as Starscream or Skywarp. And as far as I can tell relatively defenseless." He muttered a few choice words under his breath as he struggled with another latch. "How do you think a small relatively defenseless mech that's as attractive as Thundercracker would last as a Decepticon?" At Optimus' sick expression, he continued. "I think he knew that and wanted to make himself appear much larger and deadlier than he really was. I'm sure the negative affect on his speed and transforming time were well worth while to Thundercracker."

"Do you really think they would have harmed Thundercracker in such a way?" The Prime asked, feeling his fuel pump lurch at such a shameful act as rape.

The medic shrugged again, frowning as he worked. "Fliers have always been held as some of Cybertrons most attractive mechs, I'm sure there are a fair amount that would love to say they interfaced with a Seeker."

"That's despicable." Optimus muttered, shaking his head but knowing Ratchet had a point.

"But true." Ratchet said then fell silent. It was silent for a long time between the two of them, both of them focused on their own thoughts.

"Dammit, I'm going to have to cut this latch!" Ratchet burst in a temper, shoving away from the table to grab his power saw. "Who in there right mind would weld a latch shut?" He very determinedly ignored Optimus' slight smile.

/

Thundercracker rebooted almost instantly, processor programed to jump start itself quickly. It was a useful code to have activated, especially while in the company of Decepticons. Of course this also came with draw backs, like the fact that he tended to act on instinct for several kliks before his logic circuits caught up with his reflex sensors. So when he woke to find the Autobot medic leaning over him with a very large power saw in his servo he was decidedly rattled.

Red optics wide Thundercracker brought his servos up, knocking the power tool to the side with one servo and smacking the yellow medic right across the face with his other clenched servo. Without hesitating a second Thundercracker rolled to the side, right into the large mech he hadn't even noticed standing there. Again his instincts drove his and as the mechs hands reached for him Thundercracker drove his still clenched servo right into the mechs hip joint. He could vaguely hear the first mech cursing foully but Thundercracker paid the noise no heed as he slid right between the second mech's leg into a clear section of the room. Panic sent his optics skittering around the room but found the door on the opposite side of the room, two large mechs smack between the door and Thundercracker. Venting air heavily, Thundercracker finally set wide optics on the mechs, backing warily into a corner of the room.

Immediately he tried to boot up his rocket launchers but warning lights flickered instantly across his HUD, informing him that both rockets had been disconnected. Thundercracker's panic surged again as he realized why his cannons were dysfunctional. These mechs had been taking off his mods. One shoulder already lay bare, the plating there shiny and clean as though it hadn't seen the light of day in a long while, which it hadn't. Thundercracker hadn't taken the mods off since he'd gotten them so many vorns ago. Without them he had to rely on servo to servo combat only. This sent every one of his circuits haywire again with panic.

It took a long klik of silently staring at the two mechs for his processor to finally settle into itself. The unfortunate side affect of booting his systems up so quickly. This was Optimus Prime and his infamous Medic, Ratchet. Thundercracker had to be in the Autobot med bay. But for the spark of him he couldn't figure out how he'd gotten here. In his confusion it took him another moment to realize that Optimus was speaking to him.

"Calm yourself, Thundercracker, everything will be fine." Optimus murmured as Thundercracker focused his red optics on the larger mech. His tone was low and soothing, a voice one might speak to a sparkling in. It brought a memory file close to the surface but Thundercracker ignored it, knowing very well what lay inside the memory. Optimus held his servos out slowly, leaving them wide and spread. "We don't mean you any harm."

Thundercracker vented air, his cooling fans buzzing in the quiet room. His optics flickered to Ratchet with a glare. "Your medic was going to dismantle me." He glanced at his bare shoulder indignantly. "And already partially succeeded." He said this pointedly.

Optimus' voice didn't change although Ratchet, who stood angrily rubbing his dented jaw, scowled at Thundercracker in irritation. "We would never dismantle any bot." He told the Seeker seriously. "You should know the Autobots at least that well. You should also know we could not allow you to stay armed. For out protection as well as your own."

Thundercracker shifted uncertainly, optics flickering between the two mechs. He knew he didn't stand a chance against Optimus Prime, especially with the medic to back him up. He really had no other choice.

"My system tells me I was in the middle of a medical scan." He said this almost as a question, one servo going to his systems panel, where several monitor plug ins had been ripped free when he'd rolled from the table. The sockets stung badly, the whole area tender to the touch.

"I was in the middle of repairing you, ya damn slagger." Ratchet said finally, his voice gruff and supremely annoyed.

The blue mech vented air again, feeling slightly guilty for having popped the medic across the face. Quickly he made his decision. "Accept my apologies then, Medic Ratchet." He said as he straightened and dropped his servos. "My programing is set to reboot at optimal speed, unfortunately this leaves me...disorientated when first I activate." It was as close as he was going to get to saying he was sorry for walloping the medic.

Ratchet was almost stunned by the swift apology but brushed it gruffly aside in favor of interest. "Your rebooting system is incredibly fast." He commented, staring at the Seeker. "I've never seen anyone reboot so quickly."

The jet shifted in discomfort, optics flicking between Optimus and Ratchet. "I had my rebooting system upgraded when I had my mods put in. Decepticons reboot quickly or their deactivated." He told them grimly.

"Well, be that as it may, get your aft over here and sit down." Ratchet ordered after a pause of silence. "I'm not done with you yet."

Thundercracker thought of protesting but after looking at Ratchet's stern face and Optimus' kind one he decided against it. He could call a truce with the Autobots for now, but only in the med-bay. He knew they would undoubtedly lock him up once they were done repairing him but why not let himself be repaired while he had the chance? With that in mind the blue jet sidled past Optimus and took a seat on the med table, letting the medic begin to replug the scanning machines.


	3. Politeness and Sunshine

A/N: Apologies for letting this fic get so behind! If you read my other stories you know my computer is trashed and I now have to use an ipad for my writing. Which means I have a slightly unconventional writing program thats not very compatible with this website. My auto correct refuses to work with the key board I bought for the ipad and I have to copy and paste my writing here, which kinda screw with the format to no end! So there will be mistakes, just keep that in mind.

Chapter Three: Politeness and Sunshine

Thundercracker gingerly raised himself up onto the med table, letting the medic plug the scanning machines back into his system. His firewall detected no viruses from the machines so he let them scan his systems freely. Now that his initial panic was over his aches and pains were returning, his wings stinging irritably.

"How long have I been here?" He asked no one in particular, red optics watching the medic gather the tools he'd scattered with his panic. His energon was running smoother now, his fuel pump slowing and his fans kicking off.

"Aproximately 8 joors." Optimus answered, voice just as smooth and deep as Thundercracker remembered it. Thundercracker could feel the leaders optics on his face plate, burning, but he ignored the sensation.

"Wouldn't be in my med bay if ya took better care of yourself." Ratchet grumbled irritably, dumping the tools onto the table beside Thundercracker.

Processor whirling Thundercracker wondered if anyone even realized he was gone yet. Soundwave might, seeing as Thundercracker wasn't waiting for him in his room. But would anyone else? Feeling along the trine bond, Thundercracker felt only fuzziness, which meant his trine was asleep. Fans almost kicking on in irritation Thundercracker focused on the present.

"What exactly were you hoping to achieve with your saw?" Thundercracker asked mildly, optics discreetly searching the room. Without his launchers he was virtually helpless but he could still stun them long enough with a sonic boom to find a weapon. If that was, he decided to struggle. His Battle Program was sifting through ideas but hadn't found anything worth the risk yet.

"Whoever put your mods in was a moron!" Ratchet exclaimed bluntly, arranging his tools in a neat line. "The last few latches are welded shut."

Thundercracker grinned, lips plate stretching wide as his vocalizer let out a laugh. Reaching around under his loose mod he began to fiddle with the latches. "I put them on myself." He admitted truthfully, seeing no reason to lie. "I made it seem like the latches were welded so if such an instance as this occurs. If the welds are cut through my processor will receive a jolt, which will immediately reboot me if I happen to be offline."

Ratchet shuttered his optics at the younger mech, watching the flier fiddle with his mod. "That's very intelligent." He admitted, at a loss for what else to say. "Not too many mechs would have thought of that. You say you put these mods on yourself?" This was asked skeptically. It was almost unheard of for any bot to apply such extensive and intricate mods on themselves.

Thundercracker furrowed his brow plates, glancing up at the medic with ruby optics. "Who else would I have attach them?" He asked bluntly, genuinely curious. The Autobots would be fools if they thought there was abundant trust among the Decepticons.

Watching the young mech Optimus felt his fuel pump tighten. It had been such a long while since Optimus had seen Thundercracker face to face and it made his spark ache thinking of how the the mech had changed. Although polite to a fault Thundercracker's face was a cool mask, hiding all his whirling codes behind a front. Optimus could see the cautious way the mech held himself, clearly wary and defensive. It was far from the sparkling his memory files provided.

Ratchet grunted, bringing Optimus' attention back to the present just as Thundercracker handed his launcher to the medic, hesitation in every strut. Now, with both bulky mods off, Optimus could clearly see the size difference between Thundercracker and the other seekers. Then he remembered Thundercracker's small size, even as a sparkling. Perhaps a malfunction in his growth programming? He would have to ask Ratchet later.

"These are heavy mods, mech, made thick, slow." Ratchet stated the obvious as he took the mod from Thundercracker, examining the shell closely.

"Hmm, they're meant to be that way." Thundercracker said with a shrug, feeling strangely light. The feeling was odd and made him irritable. Those mods had saved his life on more than one occasion. Shuttering his optics he watched as Ratchet stored both mods away in a locked cabinet.

"Your pretty beat up." Ratchet told the seeker as he came back to the table, getting straight to the point. "I'll be able to pull some of the dents out but some parts will have to be replaced. Your gonna need some new internals too, some lines and other parts have been corroded. You ain't been taking care of yourself." The last was an accusation.

Thundercracker nearly rolled his optics at the pushy medic but decided against it. Tapping his servo on his knee he met the medics optics. "That's a lot of parts to be wasting on a Decepticon." He said bluntly. There's no way he'd ever get that fixed up back at base and he was suspicious of the offer now.

Ratchet's servos flexed sharply, as though he wanted to throw something but instead he turned away and began to gather the parts he would need. "I'm a medic and I took an oath. I fix anyone on my med table, Decepticon or Autobot." He grumbled.

"Hmm, our medic is not so ethical." Thundercracker said frankly, straightening his back strut to stretch an aching line along his back. He winced and slumped back down a moment later.

"It would be easier if you went into recharge, repairs would be done quicker." Ratchet said expectantly, clearly expecting Thundercracker to comply.

Thundercracker shook his head, vocalizer almost spitting static in panic. "Then forgive me, I am unable to comply." He told the medic bluntly, watching Ratchet wheel around, brow plates drawn in a furious scowl. "I have not nor will I ever recharge through any repair work done to my frame. It is simply impossible."

Ratchet huffed, cooling fans kicking on his irritation. "What do you mean it's impossible?!" He nearly yelled, only barely keeping his tone down. "It's real simple, you go into recharge and I start fixin', ya pit spawned slagger." He was not used to such calm opposition from a patient.

The seeker rolled his shoulder plates, optics likewise rolling up to meet the medics gaze calmly. If there was one thing the Decepticons had taught him, it was to remain calm. Fear drew predators like Earth blood brought wolves. Besides, it was a much easier feat remaining calm in the face of the medics fury than it ever would be Megatron. Still, his energon lines were tight and his fuel pump was quickening, a response to his nervous spark.

"When I installed my mods I also installed quite a few extras, Medic Ratchet." Thundercracker began, voice only slightly tight. "As you've seen I upgraded my rebooting speed and added the rebooting trigger to my launchers. I also added a few more." He paused, shuttering his red optics and twisting his lip plates in thought. "I don't suppose you've met the Decepticon medic, have you?"

Ratchet glanced at Optimus quickly before nodding. "Yes, I've met the slagger. Knockout."

Nodding Thundercracker continued. "Knockout has a….fascination with interesting mods and professes a desire to…..dismantle those who earn his fascination." He ignored Optimus' sick expression and the outrage on Ratchet's. "So I thought it best to install a few more interesting features. I have more than a dozen rebooting triggers stationed throughout my frame, most around any vital internals or anything I modded myself. So you see, while you repair it will simply be impossible for me to recharge." He finished with a nod.

Ratchet gaped at the seeker in astonishment for several long nanokliks before snapping his mouth shut with a snap. "You installed all of that yourself?" He finally said, voice tight. He knew just how painful some of the mods he'd seen thus far would be installing and found it hard to believe a mech could inflict such ain on himself much less stay online for it.

The jet shrugged again, processor threatening to pull up the memory files of the gruesome procedures but he grimly kept his processor from opening them. "Like I have said, who else would have done so?" He asked, raising both eye ridges in question.

Ratchet pursed his lip plates in consternation but left it at that. "Well, then there's nothing for it then. The repairs need to be done. Lay down." He demanded, feeling a little sick to his fuel pump. "I'll need you to auto shut down you pain receptors in your wings, chassis and left leg."

Doing as the medic said Thundercracker gingerly turned on the med table and lay back, bringing his legs up with a hidden grimace. The dent in his hip joint mae any leg movement particularly painful. "Unfortunately one of the side effects of my rebooting triggers is the loss of any auto control over my sensor relay, in particular my pain relays. I had to replace the wiring for the auto shut down with the rebooting triggers wiring."

Ratchet spun around, thunderous. "You mean to tell me you have no control whatsoever? You've been in pain this entire time?" He was torn between scandalized and infuriated.

As Thundercracker opened his mouth to reply the door to the med bay slid open with a whoosh and the two frontliners who'd caught the seeker stumbled into the room, the red twin supporting the gold twin as the staggered. Lifting his head slightly Thundercracker could see the golden twin seemed to have an issue with his right leg, sparks flying from the hip and knee joint and wires hanging haphazardly. It looked almost as though he'd been shot.

"Heeeey, Hatchet!" The red twin called cheerfully, almost crashing his twin into a table as he waved with a smile.

"Watch where you're going, slagger!" The golden twin sniped irritably, only just catching himself before he fell.

"What have you pit spawned slaggers done now?!" This was said at a furious shout, a large wrench suddenly in the medics hands.

"They do this often." Optimus murmured down to Thundercracker, having stood silently beside his med table and simply watched.

"Get injured or infuriate the medic?" Thundercracker asked, looking up at Optimus as the medic dragged Sunstreaker to the med table beside his own and continued to shout.

Optimus smiled and Thundercracker felt his spark twinge as he realized it was the same smile he'd seen as a young protoform. "They do both quite often. I think Ratchet works on them more than any dozen bots put together."

Wincing as the red twin received a wrench to the head Thundercracker's intakes heaved as he looked back up at the Autobot leader. "You know, I remember you. In the gardens I mean."

The semi blinked his optics down at the jet and Thundercracker decided he'd taken the larger mech by surprise. "It is a fond memory." Optimus admitted honestly, surprising Thundercracker in turn. "One of the last before the war began."

Before Thundercracker could reply Ratchet was turning back to the jet, the golden twin stationed on the next table, watching with a glower, and the red twin was scurrying out the door and quickly as he could. Slightly disorientated, he focused on the medic again as Ratchet stopped beside his table.

"Now, you were telling me you have no auto shut down and you've been in pain since you arrived?" Ratchet asked him and Thundercracker suddenly felt in danger of the wrench himself.

/00000000/

Sunstreaker watched the prone jet with interest, keeping his expression indifferent with ease. The seeker looked worlds different than he had when Sunstreaker had brought him in and the golden frontliner could only guess it had been mods that made the seeker look so bulky before. Now the launchers were completely gone, revealing sleeker lines and surprisingly slender arm plates. He was also a completely different color underneath, the tones brighter, cleaner with a surprisingly flashy flare. He was still predominantly blue, but the shades were very different. He was without a doubt one of the more attractive mechs Sunstreaker had seen, now that his body was proportionate.

Blue eyes narrowed he watched Ratchet turn back to the jet, it looked like they'd been about to begin repaired when Sunstreaker had come in. Although attractive the jet was certainly banged up, paint mismatching, chassis caved in, wings dented and scratches covering his entire paint job. For a moment Sunstreaker allowed himself to visualize exactly how he'd paint the seeker if he ever had the chance.

"Now, you were telling me you have no auto shut down and you've been in pain since you arrived?" Ratchet asked the jet, using the voice that every Autobot learned was a very bad sign.

The jet however seemed unaffected. He shrugged. "I had no other choice unless I wanted to risk being dismantled." His voice was cool and calm, the an Earth pool Sunstreaker had seen once with not even a ripple along the surface. "I believe pain is the winning option when set against sch a thing as being dismantled."

Raising his brow ridges Sunstreaker wondered not for the first time how exactly the Decepticons lived. From what he could glean from Thundercracker's statement, not a very trusting existence. Not the Sunstreaker blamed him, he himself would never allow any of those slags to so much as replace a joint on him.

"I could have manually overrided your system, slagger!" Ratchet near shouted, moving towards the monitoring tablet. "I could have shut off your pain receptors as soon as you woke."

"Hmm, you could have done so but it would however be ineffective." The seeker replied, resting his helm back on the table, still as calm as could be. "I will assume you have not worked on a Seeker so extensively before."

The yellow medic paused, looking over his shoulder at the F–15. "What does that matter? Besides you're Battle Programming is there a difference?"

Curious himself Sunstreaker listened closely, having never heard Ratchet at a medical loss. "Exactly so, my Battle Programming." Thundercracker replied, ruby optics fixed on the ceiling. "As you no doubt know my Battle System is most extensive, it takes up the most room in my processor and is given the most energy. One of the default setting of a Seekers Battle System is that it is impossible to manually override anything within my form, this includes pain relays, memory files, everything down to even the minute, such as the speed at which my optics can shutter. So I am telling you because I can not auto shut down my pain receptors, it is impossible for me to turn them off at all. They are and will always be, on." Throughout the explanation me moved not a line, optics still fixed on the ceiling.

"You're telling me that any operation I perform on you, not only will you be online but you will feel every last nanoklik of it?" Ratchets voice was vaguely sickened and Sunstreaker could see why. Any repairs Ratchet performed would be more like torture than surgery.

"Yes, that is indeed what I am telling you." Thundercracker finally tilted his helm to look at the uneasy medic. "You need not feel guilt, it was a sacrifice I made willingly and one that has paid me back in full. I can however auto shut down my spinal strut relay, so I will not move during your repairs." That seemed to end the discussion and Ratchet's shoulders slumped as he began to prepare.

The golden frontliner watched as Ratchet began to ready himself for surgery, absently noticing Optimus sit beside him on the med table. Sunstreaker wondered if he wanted to be here for this, knowing the seeker was going to be in an intense amount of pain and paralyzed the entire time. It was a gruesome thought and not one he himself would want to suffer. He'd already shut his own pain sensors to his damaged leg down and he felt absolutely nothing. He could't imagine being in pain like Thundercracker would no doubt be in.

"So how'd you damage your leg?" Optimus asked as Ratchet began the repairs on the seekers hip. It would no doubt be one of the least painful repairs.

"Got in it with Ironhide." Sunstreaker said honestly, blue eyes intently watching the repairs.

"Have you been assigned a punishment?" Optimus' voice was weary, his own optics focused on the light grimace pulling at the seeker's lip plates.

"Prowl gave me a three solar cycles in the brig." It wasn't the worst punishment he'd ever gotten and it certainly wasn't the best.

"Well, then, I think I will take my leave, I have no stomach for this." The semi said in a low voice, patting Sunstreaker on the shoulder and heading out.

Sunstreaker didn't blame him. He himself was watching and he found the expressions crossing he seekers face plate unnerving. In battle Sunstreaker enjoyed inflicting pain, loved it even. But he didn't like seeing it out of battle, it had a way of messing with his programming. he figured he'd seen pain in battle so often that his processor began to associate it with pleasure, it was the only way he could explain his aggressive interfacing and continual need for fighting. So he felt extremely uncomfortable as Thundercrackers expression made his engine run a little hot, his processor wondering what it would be like if he'd put that expression there.

Feeling ashamed and sick, he tried to think of something else, feeling Sideswipe's curiosity in the back of his processor. He turned his thoughts instead to how exactly he would paint the little seeker if he got a chace. He'd never painted a flier before, only ground mechs, and he wondered how he would paint Thundercracker's wings.

Staring at the seekers face as he imagined Sunstreaker first tried to decide on which colors he would use. The more somber hues painting the mech now? Or the lighter more cheerful colors that had been painted over? Or a whole new set of colors? He'd definitely keep the seeker blue, but what about the cream and black? Would he leave them? Perhaps he would lighten the blue just a shade further, make it almost a purple but not quite, with silver flakes to add sparkle. Maybe the cream he could lighten a well, not white but maybe a soft eggshell with a light mix of blue flakes to add dimension but not enough to change the color. And the black? Maybe he would darken it, make it blacker than black with a, extra coat of sealant to make it glisten like it was wet. Yes, those would be perfect.

Would be change the paint design? He'd leave Thundercracker's face plate light, the eggshell would make draw out his lips and his ruby optics. His helm would remain black as well as his chassis. Sunstreaker would add a thin ring of blue around the glass cockpit, emphasizing the curve of the glass. The rest of his chassis would be black, from his neck joint down to his hip joints, slimming his chassis even further. The inside of his thigh plates Sunstreaker would paint eggshell, drawing attention to the attractive curve, lining it with a faint line of black. The rest of his legs would be blue with only faint accents of black. His wings…how to paint his wings? Perhaps almost completely blue, the bottoms dipped in black with a brush thin eggshell line cutting through the black and ending with a decorative flourish at the tips of his wings. Yes, that would be perfect.

So busy thinking Sunstreaker almost didn't notice when Thundercracker turned his face, meeting the frontliners eyes curiously. Eyes focused intensely Sunstreaker found he couldn't look away, caught in the seekers ruby optics.

The moment was short but to both mechs felt long and endless. Electricity seemed to surge between the two of them, some unspoken understanding and as he stared Sunstreaker really honestly wondered for the first time ever what it would be like having an interfacing partner all for his own.

Then Thundercracker looked away, lips twisted into a grimace and Sunstreaker felt the connection snap with a crack. Shaking his head Sunstreaker wondered dazedly if he'd ever get the chance to paint the sleek little flier.

nanoklik ≈ a second

klik ≈ a minute

breem ≈ 8.3 minutes

joor ≈ an hour

solar cycle ≈ a day

stellar cycle ≈ a year

vorn ≈ 83 years


End file.
